


Final Project

by crescent_woods



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Endgame Lukanette, F/M, Marinette is stressed, lbscexchange2021, luka is chill, together they're gonna Get It Done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29420844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescent_woods/pseuds/crescent_woods
Summary: Marinette and Luka are partnered for a school project - they have to work music and fashion into their product. Both of them are at a loss on how to get it done, so they'll have to think outside of the box to get it done.prompt: college/university au!
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 15
Kudos: 30
Collections: 2021 Exchange





	1. Asynchronous

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nonbinarynino](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonbinarynino/gifts).



> happy Valentine's Day! writing about marinette's stress made me stressed but i hope YOU don't feel stressed by it too (or do i?)

Marinette didn’t understand it. This was her final project. Last semester, last grade, last tormenting, eternal project. The very last school assignment she would ever have to complete. Ever. The only thing between her and that sweet, sweet diploma. And while she hadn’t gotten the worst partner (oh, the words she would have if she’d been partnered with Simon), she was still confused on how fashion design was supposed to work with music composition. 

She could understand modeling or photography, or even a fine-r art like painting or sculpting… but music? Music didn’t even touch the same senses as fashion design… How were they supposed to combine their art forms?

Sure, Marinette had designed album covers and tour outfits for Jagged and his associates, but she had been given parameters and samples, do’s and don'ts, and feedback before she royally messed it up. Here, she had none of that. Aside from the stupidly vague brief that her professors would probably call ‘creative liberty,’ she had nothing. 

Is it really creativity, or just professoral laziness?

Good one, me!

Marinette was stuck in her head, already dooming herself with every possible catastrophe that could happen - 

What if he could barely even write music? What if we had nothing in common and we can’t find something to base our project on? What if his personality is so ugly I can’t stand to be around him? How would we get anything done?

\- as her partner slid into the desk across from hers. She gave him a once-over (just to understand the person she would be working with for the next month, she told herself). He had a backpack that looked like it only contained a folder or two (compared to her jam-packed backpack and duffel of fabric and craft supplies) and a guitar in the most torn-up case she had ever seen. 

For someone with so much love for music - given the swirling tattoos across his arms and peeking out from his absolutely ragged t-shirt - and obviously his instruments, why is he letting his guitar live in such a beat-up case? 

The man across from her cleared his throat. “Hi, Luka Couffaine. I think we’re partners for this project?” He slid her a subtle grin and a hand to shake.

Oh shoot. She had totally been staring. Again.

“Hi, uh- um… Ma-Ma-Marinette!” She belatedly stammered out. “Fashion designer,” she added with a smile of her own as she shook his hand. 

Luka laughed. “Nice to meet you, Ma-Ma-Marinette.” 

Her face turned red at the joke. He quickly changed topics to hopefully avoid what she thought of as mortifying. “So, it sounds like we need to work music and fashion into one product,” he paused, and continued when she gave a nod in agreement. “Do you have any idea how we could do that?”

****

Marinette sighed, running her hands down her face.

Hey, watch the makeup! It took forever!

Oh, screw the makeup.

“So, basically, your idea is to have one of us make a product, and have the other one make theirs based on the first one? Doesn’t that sort of… negate the point of the project?”

Luka’s chair creaked as he leaned on its back two legs. “Honestly, yeah. But I don’t see how we can work visual and aural art into one product. I think it would be easier if one of us just makes something, and the other person makes theirs based on that. So you design something and I write a song off of it; or the reverse, I write a song and you design something based on that.” 

He locked eyes with her across the table. “I’m comfortable either way, so would you rather design on your own, or based on my music?”

Marinette’s face fell into the table.

Well, if I go first then I have all the liberty to design whatever I want, but then Luka would have to… look at my clothes and write a song about them? But if I design based on his music, who knows if our style will even match? He could write… 

What kind of music does he write, anyways? Judging by his clothes, I would guess soft rock, maybe?

Unless he’s the type to purposely dress that way to avoid the stereotype…

Ugh… Does that even matter? Just ask him!

Well, I don’t want to be rude!

Is it really rude to ask a question that your project depends on?

…

She refocused on him. When had she zoned out? “I think we need to get a better idea of each other’s work before we decide that. To see which one of us is better off going first, and who can be inspired by whose work?”

Luka nodded at her. “Okay, that sounds good,” he paused for a moment to think. “I have enough stuff with me that I can play wherever, so where do we need to go to see some of your work?”

They left their first session with each other’s phone numbers, the address for Marinette’s studio, and minor dread (on Marinette’s part) as to how in the world they would get this done.

***

Marinette sighed. Again. They’d spent hours in her studio thinking through potential plans. Finding a song that could inspire a design from Marinette and a composition from Luka. Marinette designing a piece then having Luka write a composition inspired by the design. Having Luka compose and Marinette design a piece inspired by that. Traveling to a beautiful place - they both loved beaches? - and using their surroundings to inspire their creations.

None of them worked.

Their style matched, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that they couldn’t figure out how to coordinate their mediums.

“What are we doing wrong?” Marinette asked as she spun lazy circles in her spinny chair. “You write beautiful music,” he muttered out a quiet thank you at that, “and I know I can design,” she gestured at the work around her, “so why can’t we just stick those together? Why can’t we get this?” Her voice broke.

In all of her career, even learning under Audrey Bourgeois, she hasn’t felt like this much of a failure. 

You know you’re not a failure. This is just a valley. You’ll get out of it.

Shut up, me. Let me wallow.

Luka grabbed one of her hands to stop the chair and her literal spiral of doubt. “Look, I know this looks impossible now, but once we find our groove you’ll forget all about this.” With those soft eyes staring her down, she felt herself calm down. “Just breathe for a minute, okay? I’ll run and grab some snacks. You, take a walk or just sit and breathe for a while. We have time, Marinette. We have time.”

As soon as Luka left, her head slammed into the worktable. She was trying her best to listen to Luka and stay calm, but it just seemed so… impossible. She took a couple deep breaths, before pulling out her phone and dialing the one person she knew could get her out of her pity.

“Alya Cesaire, Goddess of all things digital and all-around stunning babe, speaking.”

“Alya,” Marinette whined. “Tell me to shut up. Better yet, tell my mind to shut up. I just need to get this stupid project figured out, but it’s impossible. But I know it’s not! Tell me to shut up and figure it out and get it done. Please. I’m begging you, tell me to shut up before I lose my mind ‘cause right now it’s like this project is impossible. And the stupid-hot guitarist isn’t helping, and i just need some Lady Wisdom to shut me up so I can actually think about getting it done instead of wallowing in my self-pity.”

Alya sighed on the other end of the phone. “Okay, girl. Shut up and do your dang project.”

“Really?” Marinette slid out of her chair.

“Fine!” She laughed. “Look, you’re making a big deal out of a typical project.” Marinette could hear Alya set something on a counter before she continued. “Sure, you have an unusual partnership, but that’s why it’s exciting! You get to make art together, in a way that not many of your classmates, or people in general, have done before. It’s an amazing opportunity and you’re lucky. You are smart enough to get this done, stop freaking out and just… do it, girl. I believe in you.” There was a faint shout in the background before she added, “Oh - and Nino believes in you too.”

Marinette giggled from the floor. “Put me on speaker, Alya!”

“Okay, done.”

“I believe in you too, Nino!” Marinette shouted into the phone. She could hear Nino’s laugh faintly in the background of Alya’s loud ha!

“Okay girl, you know what you need to do, you know you can do it. I can’t wait to see what you two come up with!”

“Thank you, Alya. You are an absolute lifesaver. I’ll call you later! Bye!”

“Glad to help.”

She hung up after Alya’s final word. 

Her phone pinged with a text from Alya to tell her all about the “stupid-hot guitarist” she was working with.

An idea struck Marinette.

She dialed another number.


	2. Good News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette figures out how to do their impossible project and they get to work with fresh ideas. Luka helps Marinette through a design struggle with interesting techniques.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome back to Nobody Likes School Projects! i hope y'all like marinette's internal monologue in this chap bc i was cracking myself up. this chapter is titled after the song Good News by K.Flay, and while it literally has nothing to do with the plot of this chapter, i was vibing to it while writing and tbh it's just a Nice Mood. so feel free to spotify that song and listen to it while you read but it has No Impact on what happens in the next one thousand and something words!

The phone rang for a moment. It felt like an eternity. Marinette turned in her chair, scribbling notes on a piece of scrap paper. Either Luka was taking _forever_ to answer his phone, or Marinette was just really fast at resetting her supplies.

She heard a click and then, "Hey, Marinette. I'm in line at the store. What's up?"

Her pencil dropped when she picked up her phone. "Luka! Oh my gosh, Luka! You won't believe it! I figured it out! Well, not me alone - Alya helped too! Alya is the reason I figured it out!"

Luka paused. She thought she heard a cart moving on store tiles.

_Ugh, is it a grocery store essential to have bad tiles and rattling carts?_

"Figured what out?" 

"How to do our project!” She emphasized to herself with a spin around her chair. “See, Alya said something and that had me thinking on how we were going at our project. And we were looking at it completely wrong!” She pushed her chair off of her work table with her feet to stand and pace around the room. “Have you ever done a puzzle, Luka?”

“Yeah, of course. Why?” 

Marinette heard loud beeping through Luka’s phone.

_Is he checking out already?_

_Duh! That’s what he said right when he answered._

_What snacks do you think he likes?_

_Uh… probably whichever ones he just bought?_

_Wait, what were we talking about?_

_Oh, right-_

“You know how sometimes when you do a maze, it's easier to start from the end instead of the beginning?"

"Yeah, sure," Luka laughed quietly.

“That’s like our project!” Marinette shouted. “We don’t have to start from the beginning! We told ourselves that - or at least I told myself that, I don’t know if you were too but that doesn’t really matter - but we don’t have to start from the beginning!”

Luka paused for a second. "I don’t follow. How can we go backwards from design and composition?”

“No, that’s not the point! The point is that this project isn’t a puzzle! We can start from _anywhere_!”

Luka was quiet again, and she hoped that was a _thinking_ silence, not an _I hate this idea_ silence. “Where do you wanna start, then?”

Marinette sat in the small loveseat by the window to think. “Umm... I don’t know. Since you’re coming back here with snacks we can just stay here and think until something happens, or we can both take some time to think and we can meet up next week and go over our thoughts?” 

Luka started to say something, before Marinette interrupted, “Oh, wait! Your stuff is still here! You have to come back anyways, so we should just keep working.”

“Yeah, sounds good, Marinette. I just finished checking out so I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Okay! Bye!”

***

_No, that’s not right…_

_What if the sleeve is longer?_

_Yikes._

_Pleated skirt?_

_God, no._

_No sleeves!_

_Nope! That’s even worse!_

Marinette huffed over her sketchbook. She and Luka had been in her studio for a few hours working. They had developed a sort-of battle plan, but she still couldn’t get it right.

She must have been too far in her own head because she hadn’t even registered Luka leaning over her shoulder until he asked, “Slow down, Marinette. What are you having trouble with?”

She jumped in her seat and he mumbled a little apology. “I’m not sure, Luka. I know- before you say it, I know it looks fine and beautiful and amazing and everything, but something is just _wrong_.”

Luka hums as he looks over her sketch. It was a basic form, a model and a few lines and marks about what she might design. He didn’t know how she could say it looked wrong like that, but she was the designer after all. 

He sat in the chair next to her, basically crowding around her until she couldn’t see anything but him and her sketchbook. 

_Hey, that’s smart!_

_He’s literally sitting next to you._

_Yeah, but he’s positioning his body to block how busy it is outside the window! And he does smell nice._

_… what._

“Okay, I have an idea. Tell me the basics of your design.”

Marinette wiggled in her chair as she told him, “I want something badass but also gentle, you know? Like something that screams _I’m super cool and sophisticated but I want to cuddle with dogs all day_.”

Luka nodded next to her. As if she actually made sense to him when she barely made sense to herself. “What colors?”

She had to pause to think about that, since she normally thought of colors after she had designed the piece. “I feel like greens and blues for this one. Maybe splashes of pink in there? Something forest-y and alive.”

Luka nodded again, before he rose from his seat. “Okay, I like that. Let me get set up and I’ll start playing for you.”

_Wait, what?_

“What are you gonna play?”

“Your colors. I think that might help you get in the mood. I’ll just play whatever comes to mind for it and we’ll see if that helps your creativity.” Luka explained as he tuned his acoustic.

Marinette nodded. “Okay. I don’t know how you can do that, but you know music better than me so if you think it’ll work, I’ll try it!”

Luka started playing from her loveseat by the window. She took a moment to look at him as he warmed up and then began playing. He looked so relaxed, spread across her furniture like a snake trying to soak up as much sunlight as possible. His hair was surprisingly shiny and she kept staring at how the blue and green undertones came through so clearly in the full sun.

_The combination makes him look even more like a snake…_

As she watched him, she got settled into the flow of his music. She saw some flashes in her mind - flowing green and blue, sharp and dramatic, comfortable. A practical setting or purpose was still vague, but the concept was there.

Marinette grabbed her pencils and began on a new page.

She again started with her model’s form, the bare outline of a woman with her arms crooked out. After a few attempts, erases, and alters, she looked at her completed first draft. In a deep, almost-black green, she outlined a shiny leather miniskirt. The top, baby blue with pink florals, was a long-sleeved wraparound shirt with bell sleeves extending a few inches past her fingertips.

_Something is missing, though._

_Like… shoes?_

_Something_ other _than the obvious._

Marinette uncurled herself from around her sketchbook to see if she could find inspiration around her. There was a tree outside her window with fresh leaves just beginning to spring, but that fresh spring green wouldn’t pair well with the darker green of her dress. Her walls were white, her desk and work tables were white. Her dress forms were neutral colors, her fabric lined the walls according to material, purpose, and color. Accessories and accents were in their properly labelled boxes on the shelves. Everything was so /Marinette/ that it wouldn’t stand out on her design. 

Luka, however, was completely and totally different from everything in her studio. He was still snug in the sun. His eyes were closed and his fingers danced among the strings. The music he was producing was something she had never heard before, but some part of it sounded familiar to her. 

_Do you see his arms?_

_Why do guitarists always have such toned arms? That’s so unfair…_

_No, the tattoos! Not his muscles!_

Luka had streaks of color swirling on his arms. There was a cluster of purple and coral flowers circling his wrist, and what looked like musical symbols on his forearm. A snake coiled down his bicep. Her eyes kept traveling up, but the hint of another tattoo was hidden by his shirt sleeve. 

His arm moved, and her eyes shot up to his face to find him watching her now. He almost looked like he was smirking about catching her staring.

“How’s it going over there?” he asked quietly.

Marinette looked down at her sketch, then back at him. “I think it’s really good so far. I don’t know what it is about you, but your guitar is the most inspirational thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten this much done in one sitting!”

“That’s good,” Luka smiled at her. “Can I come see it? Or is your design a surprise until you finish it?”

“Oh, no! No, you can totally look! It’s not just my project, anyways.” Marinette jumped up from her seat to bring her sketchbook to him. Luka had to set his guitar on the ground so Marinette had room next to him on the loveseat. She had to tuck into his side so he could see, which meant his arm had to go around her shoulders.

Luka enthusiastically followed her even more enthusiastic explanation of the dress. He asked questions about parts of it, but he had understood more fashion terminology than Marinette expected.

_Do you think he knows someone in the industry?_

_Maybe… Is it a girlfriend?_

_No!_

_No to Luka having a fashionable girlfriend?_

_No to thinking about Luka like that at all!_

Luka’s finger trailed along the outline. “This is really nice, Marinette. Do you think it’s done?”

She thought for a second. “I mean, it totally could be. As is, it’s a complete ensemble, but…” she trailed off.

“It’s missing its sparkle?” he joked, and Marinette giggled. “Its pizzazz? Its top-secret… _M-D-C_ specialty?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know what it is!” She groaned. “I’ve looked at _everything_ there is to look at here, and nothing is inspiring what I need.” 

Luka looked down at her for a long moment. “Tell you what. I think we’ve worked enough today. You’ve got most of your sketch done, and I have some recordings to listen to later. Let’s finish for today.”

Marinette stood up from the loveseat. “Okay, I’m good with that. We’ve been cooped-up in here long enough. Do you want to meet up again later this week?”

Luka stretched in his seat before answering. “Yeah. This time, I’ll pick the place. Somewhere more inspiring than the place you’re used to staring at,” he laughed.

They chatted about random things as they packed up Luka’s stuff.

Marinette smiled as they reached the door. “So I’ll see you then? We can figure out everything else later?”

Luka nodded as Marinette opened the door to her studio. “It’s a date.”

“Okay, bye!” Marinette waved at Luka’s retreating body.

_Wait._

_What did he say?_


End file.
